WHO/Europe has launched a mentorship toolkit for nurses with 2 complementary courses – one for early-career nurses and one for their mentors. It is the first mentorship toolkit of its kind to provide parallel courses for both groups, and the first to be rolled out at this scale across Europe. Developed as part of the European Union-funded “Nursing Action” project, the toolkit is designed to provide support during one of the most important stages of nurses’ careers: the transition from education into clinical practice.
Health systems across the WHO European Region are facing a challenge: as well as recruiting nurses, countries also need to create working environments in which newly qualified nurses can develop, feel supported and build sustainable careers.
“We cannot address the nursing workforce challenge by focusing on recruitment alone,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe. “We also need to make sure that when nurses enter the profession, they find workplaces that enable them to learn, grow and want to stay.”
“Through the Nursing Action project, we are working with countries to turn retention into practical action. Mentorship is part of that: investing in nurses at the beginning of their careers, strengthening the environments in which they work and ultimately building a more resilient nursing workforce.”
Encouraging a smooth transition
Starting clinical practice can be an exciting but demanding period for early-career nurses. They must translate what they have learned during their education into day-to-day clinical decisions while adapting to new responsibilities, new teams and new environments.
Effective mentorship can help make that transition safer and more supportive.
“Early-career nurses are learning much more than clinical tasks. They are learning how to make decisions, communicate within multidisciplinary teams, manage responsibility and develop their own professional identity,” said Margrieta Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Adviser at WHO/Europe.
“A good mentor provides the space to discuss difficult experiences, ask questions without fear of judgement and reflect on what went well and what could be done differently. That combination of practical guidance, reflection and psychological safety helps nurses develop confidence and autonomy while feeling that they belong in their team.”
Across the Region, countries are looking for ways to strengthen the nursing pipeline – from attracting people into nursing education and supporting them through training to creating conditions that encourage nurses to remain in the profession.
Mentorship is increasingly recognized as an important part of that response. Well-designed transition support can contribute to professional confidence and development, mental health and well-being, workforce retention and patient safety.
Support, reflection, development and belonging
The new toolkit gives early-career nurses and their mentors practical tools to strengthen how they are supported and their professional development, as well as creating a sense of belonging during the transition into clinical practice.
The course for early-career nurses is designed to help participants navigate their transition into practice, reflect on their experiences, build professional confidence and autonomy, strengthen their sense of belonging within their teams, and make the most of their relationship with a mentor.
The course for mentors, which runs in parallel, helps them create supportive and psychologically safe learning environments, provide constructive feedback, guide reflection and professional development, support increasing clinical autonomy and help early-career nurses integrate into their teams.
Both courses include an introduction and 6 modules featuring short videos, practical guides and reflective exercises. The materials are organized around 4 pillars: support, reflection, development and belonging.
Importantly, the toolkit has been developed with the realities of nursing practice in mind.
The courses were piloted with mentors and mentees in 9 countries across the Region and in diverse health-care settings. Participants reported high levels of engagement, while the pilots provided WHO/Europe with important insights into how mentorship works in practice, including the influence of organizational culture, available time and resources, and what types of barriers nurses encounter when trying to access support tools.
These lessons have helped shape a toolkit intended not simply as a training resource, but as a practical instrument that countries and health-care organizations can adapt to their own workforce needs and contexts.
From recruiting nurses to helping them stay
The mentorship toolkit has been developed through Nursing Action, a multi-year project funded by the European Union through the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).
Through Nursing Action, WHO/Europe is working with 21 countries to strengthen the nursing workforce and translate evidence on recruitment, retention and professional development into practical policies and interventions.
The new mentorship toolkit adds another tool to that effort – helping health systems ensure that nurses entering the profession are not only prepared to work, but supported to develop, contribute and stay.